So this weekend there will be THREE comics/pop culture shows in the metropolitan New York area. Long Island’s EternalCon was the first to claim this date—it’s more of a pop culture show with nerdlebrities, wrestlers as well as a comic contingent—Amanda Conner, Billy Tucci—and very much aimed at the local market. (It’s also the one where I’ll be on Saturday.)

New York Comic Fest, thrown by the folks behind the Asbury Park show, heads to Westchester with Scott Snyder, Jim Steranko, Mark Waid and more. It’s an old school comics-only event.

Finally there’s the new kid, Special Edition: NYC, a big ReedPOP extravaganza at the Javits with publishers, Gail Simone, Mike Allred and many more.

There’s been a lot of contention and behind the scenes scuttlebutt about having three shows on one weekend, and this could be a non-additive situation. It’s really unfortunate on many levels; NYC could definitely use a show like Special Edition but the timing made it hard to support whole-heartedly. However what’s done is done and if anyone is a winner it’s the comics fan, who has a whole array of events to choose from.

I’m sticking with Eternalcon because I promised I’d go first and I’m honoring my commitment. I know other creators have made the same decision. My advice? Go to the show that’s in your neighborhood, that offers the creators you want to see. Kinda simple. Luckily, the NY area is just about big enough to support three events on one weekend, and the Westchester and L.I. events are meant to be specific for those areas. So really, let’s all go out and have a good time.

The other bonus? A bunch of satellite events starting tonight. In the next few posts I’ll be previewing all three cons. Maybe this is additive after all!